Zhu Di: My fourth son is a great emperor of all time?

Chapter 78 Esen was actually Zhu Qizhen's man
When Esen captured Zhu Qizhen, there was no record of how many men he brought with him. However, the Ming Shilu (Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty) records that when Esen took Zhu Qizhen to Datong, he likely brought more than two thousand men.

This is very interesting. As you all know, many people say that Esen launched his border raids because he was dissatisfied with the Ming Dynasty due to its tribute obligations.

According to records, in the twelfth year of the Zhengtong reign, Esen came to pay tribute with two thousand people.

In the thirteenth year of the Zhengtong reign, Esen brought more than three thousand people to pay tribute. At that time, Wang Zhen said that there were too many people. It is uncertain whether Wang Zhen made the final decision, but Esen did give this response from the Ming Dynasty.

The Tumu Crisis occurred in the fourteenth year of the Zhengtong reign. At that time, Esen brought two thousand men with him to capture Zhu Qizhen.

I think Esen must have come to pay tribute.

This explains why Esen treated Zhu Qizhen so well, essentially living the life of an emperor. Because Esen regarded him as the emperor of the Ming Dynasty!

[And then there's the most famous story of the "Knocking on the Gate Emperor." Is it possible that Esen encountered Zhu Qizhen, who had been ambushed, and wanted to take him back to Xuanfu and Datong, which is why he knocked on the gate in those two places?]

Another thing that made Zhu Qizhen a laughing stock, and also the most difficult part of the Tumu Crisis to explain, is that after Zhu Qizhen regained the throne, he built a "street temple" for Esen.

[The fact that Zhu Qizhen, after his restoration, killed his savior and built a temple for the Oirat leader are evidence of his incompetence, but they may also conceal hidden motives.]

"What's the secret?"

Seeing that Zhu Gaoshuo remained silent, Zhu Di could only ponder the matter on his own.

But soon, the sky provided the answer.

To make the account in the Ming Dynasty's Veritable Records hold true, the civil service deliberately exaggerated Esen's strength.

Esen had no real power. His continued existence on the grasslands was entirely due to Emperor Yingzong's support. In the sixth year of the Zhengtong reign, Emperor Yingzong bestowed upon Esen the title of Prince of Huai, a title equivalent to a prince in the Ming Dynasty, thus enhancing Esen's influence in Mongolia.

Of all the Mongol tribes, only Esen came to pay tribute every year!

In the ninth year of the Zhengtong reign, Zhu Qizhen did another important thing: he ordered Duke Cheng, Zhu Yong, to go north to fight the Uriyangkhai. This battle was called the Battle of Yikelesu, which was a clear sign of supporting Esen!
With Zhu Qizhen's tacit approval, Esen went on to wage war everywhere, first attacking Hami, then the Uriyangkhai, and even harassing the Jurchens. He was a troublemaker, plunging the Mongolian grasslands into internal strife and making them restless for a day.

Then those who were attacked by Esen would eventually come to Zhu Qizhen and ask to submit to the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Qizhen would take in and give official positions to whoever came.

This tactic of instigating conflict from within and without was actually devised by Zhu Yuanzhang to create checks and balances among the various Mongol tribes, preventing unification. Later, the West adopted it, and this strategy has a professional term: the balance of power on the continent.

"That's right, that's right. Esen is such a country bumpkin. How could he possibly unify the grasslands? And the unification of the grasslands was disintegrated so quickly. Clearly, Esen never achieved unification at all!"

Zhu Gaochi was more excited than anyone else.

In this way, everything makes sense.

What do you mean that only Zhu Di and Zhu Qizhen have ventured deep into the northern deserts in the past 500 years?

The real reason might be that Esen saved Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Qizhen and Esen were a community of shared interests.

The reason why the emperor called for the gate was because Zhu Qizhen actually called for the gate, but not because Esen was attacking the Ming Dynasty. Rather, it was because Esen had saved Zhu Qizhen and wanted to send him back to the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Gaoshuo nodded slightly; such a statement was indeed very reasonable.

The Oirat Mongols had fewer than 80,000 men, yet they still managed to launch a four-pronged attack on the Ming Dynasty.

What kind of strength did Esen have to unify the grasslands?

"But why did Zhu Qizhen support Esen?"

Zhu Gaosui asked curiously.

Zhu Gaoshuo stated directly: "Because Esen's bloodline is not pure enough!"

The biggest reason Zhu Qizhen dared to support Esen was that Esen could not possibly unify Mongolia. First of all, Esen wasn't even a Mongol; his surname was Choros, and he came from the other side of the mountains. For the Mongols to achieve unification, they could only be descendants of Genghis Khan!

Esen had something else that made him particularly hated, which was also part of Zhu Zhanji's scheme. Esen possessed the Imperial Seal of the Yuan Dynasty, which Toghon had seized from Arughtai and intended to present to Zhu Zhanji.

Since it wasn't the Imperial Seal of Qin Shi Huang, Zhu Zhanji naturally didn't keep it and let the Oirat people take it back.

You must understand, on the Mongolian steppes, that was the symbol of Mongolian legitimacy. When Esen swaggered around the steppes with this jade seal, the legitimate descendants of Genghis Khan in Mongolia looked at him and wished they could devour him!

During Zhu Qizhen's reign, Esen was incredibly powerful on the grasslands, but after Zhu Qizhen was placed under house arrest, Esen was quickly eliminated in the internal power struggles of the Oirat Mongols.

That's right, it wasn't an internal conflict on the Mongolian steppe; it was merely a conflict with the Oirats, and he died!

This is the level of Esen's abilities. The Tumu Crisis had the greatest impact on the Ming Dynasty because of Esen's death. After his death, the Mongols developed rapidly and soon completely broke away from the control of the Ming Dynasty.

"Is Esen one of our men?"

Zhu Gaosui was dumbfounded.

After all that, it seems their decision to go on a campaign against the Oirat Mongols was a mistake.

But Zhu Di had no time to pay attention to Zhu Gaosui.

He paced back and forth.

I don't know if it's nervousness or fear.

The two statements from the heavens, while this one was indeed more in line with common sense.

But now even Zhu Di can't tell who is right.

Zhu Di dared not attempt to rule Zhu Qizhen. Even if what Tianmu said was true, that Zhu Qizhen was framed by the civil official group, he now had his fourth son, so there was no need for Zhu Qizhen to become emperor.

But what if it's true?

Does he intend to allow the civil service to grow too powerful?

The civil service group represents more than just officials in the imperial court.

Rather, it refers to the entire official and gentry system of the Ming Dynasty.

Even if you kill one group of people, there will always be another group.

The reason is simple: the Ming Dynasty now needs scholars to govern it.

Scholars were mostly from official and gentry families.

In this era, what do you have to study if you don't go to school?

This also means that the civil service is difficult to eradicate.

Does the fourth prince really have the ability to defeat the civil service group?
[Esen gave Emperor Yingzong a sheep every two days and a cow every seven days. This is hardly the treatment of a prisoner. The treatment of Emperor Qinzong and Emperor Huizong is completely different from that of Emperor Qizhen. Could he have been a prisoner taken to the Oirat Mongols?]

The Jingkang Incident and the Tumu Crisis were acts of change, not shame; history does not deceive.

After Zheng He's voyages, the export profits and technological achievements, such as those related to ships, were divided up by officials and gentry. They also fabricated various lost evidence to impress the court and the emperor, forcing the country to abandon its investment in the navy. However, Zhu Qizhen had already seen through the scheme and wanted to restart the Age of Exploration, which threatened the purse strings of officials and gentry.

Zhu Qizhen was too young and inexperienced to understand human nature. He never imagined that the northern generals had long since colluded with the cabinet ministers, all engaged in the same corrupt practices. The weapons provided by the Ming Dynasty to the border troops had long become a means for them to profit; these people sold the weapons for money!

Zhu Qizhen quickly realized the corruption, so he chose to go north to the border to audit the accounts!

(End of this chapter)